Stretching and finishing of draperies and like articles



July 25, 1967 NOBUO SHIGIHARA STRETGHING AND FlNISfiING OF DRAPERIES AND LIKE ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 22, 1964 y- ,W swam? Jul zs, 1967 NOBUO SHIGIHARA 3,332,587

STRETCHING AND FINISHING OF DRAPERIES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed June 22, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. A/ofiuo Slaw/ 419A United States Patent 3,332,537 STRETCHING AND FlNlSl llNG 0F DRAPEREES AND LIKE ARTICLES Nobuo Shigihara, 3833 Renter: Ave. S., Seattle, Wash. 98108 Filed June 22, 1964, Ser. No. 376,710 16 Claims. (Cl. 223-52) The present invention relates to a stretching and finishing technique for flat fabrics such as draperies and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stretching and finishing technique and mechanism for draperies and like articles, characterized by the successive finishing of succeeding panels of the article, each panel of the article being successively stretched, steamed, and dried while stretched, all in a single operation. Such finishing of draperies and like articles is to be the common practice with respect to the stretching and pressing of draperies and like articles, wherein the article is first stretched to proper length on one machine (such as shown in Westover U.S. Patent No. 2,289,299 and Boyes US. Patent No. 2,759,273), and then pressed in a so-called hot head drapery press (such as drapery press Model HH2990, marketed by Ajax Presses, Salt Lake City, Utah), or in a drapery forming rack type finisher (such as the Draper-Form drapery finisher marketed by the Garment Finishing Equipment Corp., Cambridge, Mass). A

specialized form of the present invention is especiallyadapted to serve as an attachment for use in conjunction with the power and control units of conventional so-called form finishers, such as the Model A-3 Form Finisher, marketed by Wichita Precision Tool Company, Wichita, Kans, or the Cissel Form Finisher, marketed by the William M. Cissel Manufacturing Company, Louisville, Ky.

Objects, features and advantages of the present invention include the following:

(a) a provision of a stretching and pressing device for draperies and like articles wherein the article is stretched and clamped a panel at a time across a preferably convex, foraminous work surface, then steamed and dried while stretched, each panel of the article being thus finished successively;

(b) provision in a finishing device for draperies and like articles of a manner of steaming and drying a stretched portion of the article by blowing therethrough for selected periods a steam atmosphere then a drying air atmosphere, such blowing action ballooning a portion of the article during the steaming and drying steps so as to remove wrinkles and simulate a flat press during the drying, without the disadvantages normally incident to hot head pressing of the article, i.e. glossing or overdrying of the article during the pressing operation;

(c) provision of a stretching and finishing device for draperies and like articles wherein such finishing of the article is accomplished by finishing panel portions thereof successively, so that no limitation is presented as to one dimension (i.e. width, in the case of draperies) of articles which can be finished by the equipment;

(d) provision of a stretching and pressing equipment for draperies and like articles, wherein the equipment is in the form of a single, economically manufactured at tachment for existing form finishing equipment, i.e. specifically usable in conjunction with the power and control unit of conventional form finishing equipment such as now in extensive use for garment finishing;

(e) provision in a finishing equipment for draperies and like articles of a simple, preferably convexly configured, work surface, and the provision in conjunction with such work surface of simple, easily manipulatable,

3,332,537 Patented July 25, 1967 clamping means for opposed edges of successive panels of the article;

(f) provision in such finishing equipment of a work table which is readily assembleable and disassembleable without use of tools, as for interior cleaning or replacement of the nylon overlay of the worktable;

(g) provision in such finishing equipment of a length indicating scale as part of the worktable, to facilitate stretching of the article to a desired length in the course of the finishing thereof; and

(h) provision in article finishing equipment of the type indicated of subjacent trough means or the like for bolding without detriment to the finish of any portion of the article which has been finished, the portions of the article which are not then being finished.

It is a further important feature of the present invention that equipments characteristic of the invention, which are adapted to be used as attachments with existing garment finishing machines, enable retail dry cleaners and press shop operators to diversify their services (i.e. to finish draperies and the like as well as garments) without any major outlay for an additional finishing machine. With such an attachment, less plant or shop space is necessary than if two separate finishing machines must be maintained and operated, and considerably less expense is involved, both in terms of purchase price and in terms of installation costs.

These and various other objects, features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will be apparent from the typical specific embodiment thereof discussed below, taken together with the accompanying illustrations wherein like letters and numerals refer to like parts, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a ballooning type stretching and finishing accessory according to the invention, shown in conjunction with a conventional form finisher power and control unit, said FIG. 1 further providing a showing of the arrangement of one panel portion of a drapery on the work surface of the equipment;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the attachment shown in FIG. 1, with the drapery thereon;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in lateral cross-section through the worktable of the attachment shown in FIG. 1, with the drapery removed, and with the fabric overlay being somewhat separated from the wire form for clarity of illustration;

FIG. 3a is a fragmentary crosssectional view on an enlarged scale, showing further detail of the worktable assembly;

FIG. 4 is a detail view of one of the clamping elements shown in FIG. 1, broken away to show the spring loading of one hook thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in side cross-section through the sleeve member and adjoining portions of the accessory shown in FIG. 1, to further illustrate the constructional detail thereof; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the worktable end remote from the power and control unit.

The stretching and finishing equipment shown in the accompanying illustration is in the form of an attachment for use in conjunction with the power and control unit of a conventional form finisher. Such power and control unit is shown in broken line and generally designated at U. As is well-known to those in the finishing art, the unit U in general comprises a standpipe 10 through which steam is delivered, and around which hot drying air is delivered from blower 12 by way of plenum chamber 14, with the operation being automatically controlled by means of a manually settable timer 16, the sequence of operation involving forced flow of steam through standpipe 10 for a set period, then forced flow of drying air upwardly around the standpipe from plenum chamber 14 for a set time. By way of typical illustration, the power and control unit shown is the Model A3 Form Finisher marketed by Wichita Precision Tool Company, Wichita, Kans., although it will be readily understood that a wide variety of units of this general type are commercially available and any of them can be employed in connection with the herein disclosed type of attachment, as desired.

In general, the attachment illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises a generally L-shaped, tubu= lar conduit 20, also termable simply an elbow, which at its lower end is circular in cross-section and has mountes thereon a flanged ring 22 which fits within and provide. a sealed joint with respect to the upwardly facing dis charge opening of the plenum chamber 14, and which at its upper end 24 is of generally elliptical configuration in lateral cross-section. Said upper end 24 of conduit member merges into and is in direct pneumatic communication with the worktable, generally designated at 26. The lower half of worktable 26 is suitably an imperforate sheetmetal pan 28, joined to or an extension of the lower part of upper end 24 of the elbow 26. Pan 28 also is provided with a series of opposed pairs of supporting legs 30.

The lower pan 28 of the worktable 26 includes a series of longitudinally spaced, laterally extending ribs 32 for lateral rigidity, and the lateral edges of said pan 28 are. symmetricaly recessed as indicated at 34 and provided with a flat upper surface 36, along each peripheral edge, with a depending angle iron or like strengthening rib 38 attached to and extending along each surface 36, as shown. The specific edge configuration of the pan 28, involving recess 34, surface 36 and rib 38 is discussed in more detail below, in connection with the assembly of the lower and upper halves of the worktable 26.

The upper half of the worktable 26 comprises a laterally convey wire form 40 and a fabric overlay 42 of woven nylon or like porous material. The lateral edges of the wire form 40 are provided with symmetrical recessed portions 44 and horizontally extending peripheral edges, each with a flat lower surface 46, in turn having attached thereto an upstanding strengthening rib 48, also further discussed in connection with the manner of assembly of the upper and lower portions of the worktable 26. The porous overlay 42 terminates along its lateral edges enlarged seams or beads 50, with the lateral dimension of the overlay 42 being selected so that when the table is assembled the overlay 42 is somewhat loosely fitted with respect to the wire form 40 so that a substantial billowing or ballooning of the overlay 42 occurs, to the extent of the overlay 42 rising above the form 40 by up to about 2 /2 inches, for example, when steam or dry air is flowing through the wire form 40 and the overlay 42.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the lower and upper halves of the worktable 26 are held in assembled position by laterally placed, parallel extending, longitudinally slit tubes 52 which snugly telescope over the respective ribs 38, 48, the beads 56, and the respective edge extremities 54, 56 of the pan 28 and the wire form 40, to maintain the respective flat surfaces 36, 46 thereof in contracting relationship. As shown in FIG. 3a each bead of the fabric overlay 42 is retained by the upper lip 58 of the associated tube 52. V

The end of the worktable 26 remote from the conduit 20 comprises an imperforate metal end cap 60 of generally semi-ellipsoidal contour, suitably joined to the lower pan 28, as by a plurality of machine screws 62 passed through the adjacent end rib 32 and threaded into the end cap 60. In its upper portion, the end cap 60 is configured to present the planar face against which the ends of the slit tubes 52 and the wire form 40 abut when these components are in fully assembled position, as shown at FIG. 6.

The assembly of the worktable 26 proceeds basically as follows. Wire form 48 is superposed on the pan 2% so that the respective surfaces 46, 36 are in contact. Fabric overlay 42 is then placed on wire form 46, and the slit tubes 52 are progressively telescoped around the ribs 48, 38 and around the beads 54) of the overlay 42 until the slit tubes 52 abut the end cap 60. Preferably, the end edges of the overlay 42 slightly overlap wire form 46, and the overlapped edge adjacent the end cap 60 is placed between the end cap 60 and the adjacent edge of the wire form 49, with the corresponding end overlap of the overlay 42 adjacent conduit 29 being either folded under in like manner and retained by contact of the adjacent edge of the wire form 40 with the abutting edge of the conduit 29, or provided with a drawstring tied around the upper end 24 of the conduit 20, as shown at 64, in a manner conventional per se.

From the foregoing, the disassembly procedure will be apparent. Tubes 52 are simply slipped off the engaged pan and wire form edges, being withdrawn by endwise movement past the elbow 20, after which the overlay 42 and wire form 40 can be lifted off the pan 28.

It is an important feature of the finishing equipment shown that the drapery or like article can be stretched to desired length, and clamped in such stretched condition while being steamed and dried. To this end, a pair of complementary strengthening straps 70 and clamping members 72 are provided as part of the worktable 26. As perhaps best shown in FIG. 3a, said straps 70 are of laterally convex configmration, curving partially around and snugly engaging the slit tubes 52. These straps 70, which are also describable as anvil elements, provide substantially rigid underlying anvil surfaces against which the overlying clamps 72 can tightly engage an interposed end of a drapery panel or like article in the course of the lengthwise stretching of the article to proper length. At least one of the said straps 70 is slidable longitudinally of the worktable 26 along the tubes 52, the said tubes 52 acting as guideways therefor. The bowed, somewhat resilient straps 70, when clamping members 72 are applied thereto,

are actually slightly shortened in horizontal span, so as to firmly pinch the drapery against the clamping member, and so as to in turn be firmly clamped to the tubes 52 and not slide therealong while the drapery panel is under tension. In conjunction with the stretching of the drapery or like article to proper length, one or both of the tubes 52 is provided with a suitable dimension indicating scale, such as inch scale 74, to provide a direct reading of stretched length.

FIG. 4 is a detail, partially crosssectional view of a typical form of clamp element 72. As there shown, in connection with other views thereof such as at FIG. 2, each hook element comprises a curved stem 76, terminating in a fixed end hook 78, with the other end of the removable clamping element comprising a handle mounting a movable hook 82, with the respective hooks 78, 82 being spring loaded with respect to each other by means of compression spring 84 within the handle 80, arranged to act between the handle 80 and end flange 86 of the stem 76. In FIG. 4, the nonextended condition of the clamping element 72 is shown in solid line, and an extended position thereof, with hook 82 under spring compression, is shown in broken line.

Disposed generally below the worktable 26 and along the sides thereof are a pair of receiving elements for the portions of the article not being finished on the worktable 26. In the equipment shown, these elements are a pair of reversely related troughs 90, mounted outboardly of the legs 30.

The method of operation of the equipment shown will next be described. The cleaned drapery to be finished is preferably first manually ironed in the pleated area thereof, in the conventional manner. Assuming the worktable is fully assembled, with straps 70 in place but with clamps 72 removed from the table, and further assuming the power and control unit U is operative, the drapery is placed with a first top-to-bottorn panel thereof laid over the fabric overlay 42 and straps 70, preferably with the pleated end of the drapery adjacent the metal end cap 60 so that the very top edge of the drapery falls at the zero mark on scale 74, with the adjacent strap 70 being prepositioned just inboard of the pleated portion of the drapery. A clamp 72 is then applied across the drapery panel on the worktable, preferably in a position to lie close to but not directly clamp the pleated portion of the drapery, the drapery in the process being drawn laterally taut under the clamp 72. The drapery panel is then manually stretched to proper length by the operator tugging on the unpleated edge of the panel (i.e. the edge thereof adjacent elbow 20, and the second clamping element 72 is applied close to this unpleated edge of the drapery panel, the associated strap 70 being appropriately positioned along the tubes 52 so as to underlie the second clamping element 72. One convenient manner in which the drapery panel can be stretched to proper length is to preposition the strap 70 associated with the unpleated edge of the drapery so that its outboard edge falls at the proper desired length, as indicated by scale 74. Then, with the pleated end of the drapery panel clamped, the unpleated end thereof can simply be stretched to the point where its edge is coincident with the outboard edge of the associated strap 70, and is there retained by the associated clamp element 72.

With the drapery panel thus positioned and stretched on the worktable 26, timer mechanism 16 of the unit U is actuated to provide a desired period of steam flow upwardly through the drapery panel, followed by flowing drying air upwardly through the panel for a period sufficient to fully dry the panel. This sequence typically involves about 5 seconds of steam application and about 5l0 seconds of drying air application on the ave-rage. As will be apparent during the steaming and drying air application, the forced steam and air causes fabric overlay 42 to billow about wire form 40 which serves to unwrinkle and give a smooth or even appearance or finish to the drapery panel, in much the same manner as garments are finished on a form finisher, i.e. without any mechanical pressure being applied.

After the first drapery panel is thus pressed and finished, and as will be aparent, the clamps 72 are removed, the drapery is moved to place the next adjacent panel thereof on the work surface and the sequence of clamping one end, stretching, clamping the second end, steaming and drying while stretched, and unclamping each succeeding panel is repeated, until the entire drapery is finished.

Rather than the drapery being stretched and finished a panel at a time, an alternative mode of operation of the equipment is that of stretching the drapery panel by panel, following the clamping, steaming and drying sequence above described, and without particular regard for the finish obtained, and then finishing the drapery panel by panel. During the stretching phase, the pleated portion of the drapery can be placed directly on the worktable 26, such as shown at FIGS. 1 and 5, and the unpleated end of the drapery also gathered somewhat under its clamp 72, if desired. After the entire drapery is thus stretched, the drapery is finished by again being clamped, steamed and dried, panel by panel, the pleated end of the drape during this finishing phase being placed off the worktable by being allowed to overhang the end cap 60. This placement of only the unpleated portion of the drapery panel on the worktable allows the operator to spread the panel fully flat, both longitudinally and laterally of the table, so that the resteamed and redried panel has a substantially improved finish or press.

From the foregoing, further variations, adaptations, and modes of utilization will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention is addressed, within the scope of the following claims. Thus, simply by way of further example, other articles and draperies can be processed on the equipment and by the technique presented, such as blankets, bedspreads, linens, etc. Also, it will be evident that the steam and air supply can be introduced to the hollow worktable at any particular point thereof desired, such as centrally from the bottom. Also, as will be apparent, the worktable and associated components need not necessarily be an attachment for existing types of finishing equipment, but can be a self-contained assembly. Evident as well will be the consideration that the trough devices at the sides of the worktable optionally can be of any desired configuration, such as simply fiat surfaces of sufiicient width so long as the function of maintaining the article being Worked on or cleaned is concerned.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of finishing a flat fabric article of any given width, comprising:

(a) laying a panel of the article on a foraminous laterally convex work surface comprising a somewhat loosely fitted fabric overlay;

(b) stretching said panel longitudinally along said work surface and clamping the ends thereof between curved clamping members on said work surface;

(c) then forcing steam upwardly through said fabric overlay and said panel to balloon said fabric overlay and in turn said panel, while maintaining said panel in its stretched and clamped condition;

(d) then forcing drying air upwardly through said fabric overlay and said panel to again balloon said fabric overlay and said panel while maintaining said panel in its clamped condition;

(e) then, after said panel is dry, unclamping said panel; and

(f) successively stretching, clamping, balloon steaming, balloon drying, and unclamping each succeeding panel of the article until the entire article is finished.

2. The method of finishing a top pleated drapery of any given width, comprising:

(a) ironing the pleated portion of the drapery;

(b) laying a panel of the unpleated portion of the drapery on a foraminous laterally convex work surface comprising a somewhat loosely fitted fabric overlay;

(c) stretching said panel longitudinally along said work surface;

(d) clamping the top and bottom of the longitudinally stretched panel between curved clamping members on said work surface;

(e) then forcing steam upwardly through said fabric overlay and said panel to balloon said fabric overlay and in turn said panel, while maintaining said panel in its stretched and clamped condition;

(f) then forcing drying air upwardly through said fabric overlay and said panel to again balloon said fabric overlay and said panel while maintaining said panel in its cl-amped condition;

(g) then, after said panel is dry, unclamping said panel; and

(h) successively stretching, clamping, balloon steaming, balloon drying, and unclamping each succeeding panel of the drapery until the entire drapery is finished.

3. Mechanism for stretching and finishing a draper or like fiat fabric article, comprising:

(a) an elongate, generally horizontally extending table having a pneumatic chamber defined by a closed bottom wall and a foraminous, laterally convex upper wall constituting a work surface which includes a somewhat loosely fitted, balloonable fabric overlay, said work surface being of a length to receive only a panel part of the fabric article, with the bottom edge of the panel part near one end of the said work surface and with the top edge of the panel part near the other end of said work surface;

(b) a plurality of clamp means configured to grippingly engage separated portions of a panel part of an article spread over and stretched longitudinally of said table upper surface, each said clamp means being similar in contour to the lateral contour of the table upper surface and having opposed hook means, one of which is resiliently urged toward the other; and

(c) means for selectively supplying pressurized steam and pressurized drying aid successively to the pneumatic chamber of said table.

4. Mechanism according to claim 3, wherein said table in lateral cross-section is ofgenerally elliptical configuration.

5. Mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the foraminous upper surface of said worktable comprises a wire web overlaid by a sheet of woven fabric somewhat loosely fitted to said wire web so as to ballon out substantially therefrom under the influence of the steam and drying air blown therethrough.

6. Mechanism according to claim 5, wherein said sheet of woven fabric is nylon.

7. Mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the lateral edges of said work surface comprise a pair of tubular elements in parallel arrangement, and each said clamp means comprises a substantially rigid strap overlying said sheet of woven fabric and extending partially around said tubular elements, and a removable hook-ended clamp element overlying said strap and also extending partially around said tubular elements.

8. Mechanism for stretching and finishing a drapery or like flat fabric article, comprising:

(a) an elongate, generally horizontally extending worktable having a pneumatic chamber defined by a closed bottom wall and a foraminous, laterally convex upper wall constituting a work surface which includes a balloonable overlay, said work surface being of a Width to receive only a panel part of the article laid thereon with the bottom edge of the panel part near one end of the said work surface and with the top edge of the panel part near the other end of said work surface;

(b) two removable clamp elements configured to gripping'ly engage end portions of said panel part when the panel is spread over and stretched longitudinally of said table upper surface, each said clam-p elements having opposed hook means and having substantially the same contour as the contour of the table upper surface, laterally considered, one of each such opposed clamp element hook means being spring loaded for relative movement with respect to the other;

(e) two receptacle means, each situated substantially directly below and substantially coextensive with the sides of said work surface, to receive and support above floor level one or both side edge portions of the article while successive panel parts thereof are being stretched and pressed on said work surface; and

(d) means for selectively supplying pressurized steam and pressurized drying air successively to the pneumatic chamber of said table.

9. Mechanism according to claim 8, wherein the crosssectional configuration of said table is similar throughout.

10. Mechanism according to claim 8, wherein the foraminous upper surface of said table com-prises a wire web overlaid by .a sheet of woven material loosely fitted to said wire web so as to balloon out substantially therefrom when steam or drying air is blown therethrough.

11. Mechanism according to claim 8, wherein said table further comprises supporting legs extending from the table bottom surface to the floor, and said receptacle means are troughs mounted on and supported by said legs.

'8 12. Mechanism according to claim 8, wherein the said means for selectively and successively supplying pressurized steam and pressurized drying air to the pneumatic chamber of said table comprises:

(a) a form finisher power and control unit of the type,

which selectively blows steam or air upwardly through an exhaust opening into a porous bag around which the garment is placed; and

(b) elbow-shaped conduit means integral with said table in open communication with the pneumatic chamber of said table, the inlet end of said conduit means being removably connected to said form finisher power unit in surrounding relation to the exhaust opening thereof.

13. A stretching and finishing mechanism for draperies and like fiat fabric articles, comprising: a worktable havmg an imperforate pan and a laterally convex perforate upper form covered by a loosely fitted fabric overlay on which a panel of the article is laid, said lower pan, perforate form, and fabric overlay being configured along each lateral edge to collectively fit snugly within and be held together by a longitudinally slit tube telescoped thereover, and a longitudinally slit tube telescoped over each lateral edge of said pan, perforate form, and fabric overlay.

14. A mechanism according to claim 13, wherein each lateral edge of said pan and said perforate form comprises a horizontally extending flat surface and a vert'ically extending strengthening rib dimensioned to fit within said slit tube when said surfaces are interengaged, and said fabric overlay comprises a lateral edge head of sufiicient cross-sectional dimension to be retained within said slit tube when positioned therein along with the associated pan and form edges.

15. In a mechanism for finishing draperies and like flat fabric articles, comprising a foraminous, laterally convex work surface to which a portion of the article is clamped; an article clamping assembly,c0mprising:

(a) two tubular members extending along the lateral edges of said work surface in relatively fixed relationship, laterally considered;

(b) a relatively rigid anvil element snugly overlying and of like curvature as the work surface, the ends of said anvil element extending partially around each said tubular member so as to normally be slidable therealong; and

(c) a clamping element overlying and of like curvature as the said anvil element with hooked ends extending partially around the ends of the said anvil element, said clamping element further comprising means resiliently urging the hooked ends thereof together to clamp a portion of said article firmly between the clamping element and the anvil element and also firmly clamp the anvil element to said tubular members.

16. Mechanism according to claim 15, wherein a dimension scale extends along at least one of said tubular members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,536,637 5/ 1925 Thurnayer 22352 X 1,976,576 10/1934 Patterson 3866 2,080,915 5/1937 Hanney 3815 2,490,981 12/ 1949 Roles et al.- 3866 2,539,714 1/1951 Young et a1. 3866 2,728,129 12/ 1955 Koffman et a1 22351 2,759,273 8/1956 Boyes 26-68 X 2,775,020 12/ 1956 Boyes 2668 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. G. v. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

3. MECHANISM FOR STRETCHING AND FINISHING A DRAPERY OR LIKE FLAT FABRIC ARTICLE, COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATE, GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING TABLE HAVING A PNEUMATIC CHAMBER DEFINED BY A CLOSED BOTTOM WALL AND A FORAMINOUS, LATERALLY CONVEX UPPER WALL CONSITUTING A WORK SURFACE WHICH INCLUDES A SOMEWHAT LOOSELY FITTED, BALLONABLE FABRIC OVERLAY, SAID WORK SURFACE BEING OF A LENGTH TO RECEIVE ONLY A PANEL PART OF THE FABRIC ARTICLE, WITH THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE PANEL PART NEAR ONE END OF THE SAID WORK SURFACE AND WITH THE TOP EDGE OF THE PANEL PART NEAR THE OTHER END OF SAID WORK SURFACE; 